Barrel-blank-making machine.



No. 666,872. Patented Ian. 29, I90i.

A. MALTBY.

BARREL BLANK MAKING MACHINE.

(Application flled'June 22, 1900.)

' (No Model.)

4 Sheets-Shoat l.

' i w "R Q Wneawevx- Iva/672502?- N0. 666,872. I Patgnted Jan. 29, l90l.

A. MALTBY.

BARREL BLANK MAKING MACHINE.

(Applicdtion filed June 22, 1900. (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

No. 666.872. Patented m. 29, mm. A.;MALTBY. BARREL BLANK MAKING MACHINE.

. (Aiaplicaticn filed June 22, 1900. 4 Sh96t8$heet 3.

271573661196- Even/$27 "No. 666,872. Patente d Jan. 29, I90l.

A. MALTBY. BARREL BLANKJIIAKING MACHINE.

(Application filed June 22. 1900.) (No Model.) 4 ShoetsShaat 4.

inn STATES ATENT FFICZE ANSON MALTBY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

$1EGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 666,872, dated January 29, 1901.

Application filed June 22, 1900. Serial No. 21,140. (No model.)

39 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANsON MALTBY, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of the borough of Manhattan, in the city and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Barrel-Making Machine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a barrel-making machine, and more particularly to a machine for attaching the hoops to the staves of a knockdown barrel.

The object is to provide means for simultaneously driving the hoop-holding staples and clenching them ready for setting the barrel up when required for use.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of the machine, broken through the center both longitudinally and transversely in order to arrange the operating parts more concisely on the sheet. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation, partly in section. Fig. 4 is a partial vertical section from front to rear on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 isa top plan view of the adjustable stave-support. Fig. 6 is a front view of the same. Fig. 7 is a rear view of the same. Fig. 8 is a view in vertical section from front to rear on the line 8 8 of Fig. 5, showing staves in position; and Fig. 9 is a partial vertical section on the line 9 9 of Fig. 5.

My invention contemplates an adjustable frame for holding the required number of staves for making the body of a barrel spread out in a plane and crowded edge to edge, means for directing the stave-holderinto position beneath a gang of staple-drivers arranged in the proper position over the wire hoops stretched across the staves, means for sim ultaneously driving the staples astride the wire hoops into the staves, and means for clenching the free ends of the staples.

The machine-frame may consist of four uprights or posts A A A A connected by longitudinal rails a a and crossgirders a a The said rails and girders are located near the tops of the posts, and the said posts are further connected by deep iron girders B B, extending, respectively, from front-to rear between the posts A A and between the posts A A The girders B B are connected by a series of cross-girders b b 1) b which serve as holders or supports for the guideways in which the driving-plungers reciprocate and into the lower ends of which the staples are received to be driven by the plunger-s. The intention is to provide as many of the guide ways as there are staples to be driven in fastening the hoops to a series ofstaves sufficient in number to form the body of a barrel. The several guideways are quite similar and are represented in section in Fig. 4. Each is denoted as a whole by 0. They are each provided on their side toward the girder with two pairs of laterally-extending ears 0 0, through which they are bolted to the girders Z) I) 11 11 by means of bolts 0 which extend through elongated slots 17 in the girders, so that the guides may be adjusted toward and away from one another transversely to the machine at pleasure. The interior of the guide is provided with a longitudinal passage-way to receive the driving-plunger d, operated by an eccentric D through a strap connection 01 of well-known or approved form.

The staples to be driven are denoted by E and are placed astride of a downwardly-incined feed-wire 6, located in position to slide the staples through an opening 0 in the back of the guide 0 into position immediately below the plunger at the lower end of the guide 0. The guide-wire may be fastened at its lower end to a plate 0 at the bottom of the opening 0 and in proximity to the longitudinal channel along which the plunger 61 operates.

The eccentrics D are arranged on shafts F F F F extending longitudinally of the machine and mounted in suitable bearingsfon the top girders 01, a of the frame, the said bearings f being adjustable along the rails to bring the several eccentrics in alinement with the driving-plunger guides O as the latter may be adjusted to suit the positions of the hoops to be fastened to the staves. In connection with these adjustments above re ferred to transversely of the machine the guide-supports may be made bodily adjustable lengthwise of the machine by meansof elongated slots in the girders B B, through which the bolts b for fastening the guidesupports to the girders extend, and to conform to such adjustment of the guide-supports the eccentrics D are made adjustable on their shafts F F, &c., by means of set-screws (1 extending through the hubs (l of the eccentric into engagement with the shaft.

The several shafts F F, &c., are simultaneously rotated to lower the plunger d into driving contact and lift them again for reeeiving another set of staples by means of a series of bevel-gears g g g 9 fixed on a drive-shaft G and made adjustable thereon in a manner similar to that in which the eocentrics are made adjustable on their shafts. The gears g g, &c., intermesh with corresponding bevel-gears h h 7L2 71 on the shafts F F, &c. The drive-shaft G is driven from a suitable source of power (not shown) by means of a drive-pulley G on the end of the shaft.

The staves (denoted by 1, see Figs. 1, 4, and 8) which are to form the body of the barrel and to which the hoops are to be attached are arranged in a plane and placed beneath the plungers and their guides for receiving the staples which fasten the hoops to them as follows: A box or stave supporting frame having its bottom L, its sides Z Z, and one end Z fixed rigidly with respect to one another is of such width as to pass between the uprights A A and A A of the main frame along rails or ways M M, fixed to the inner sides of the uprights. The length of the said stave-supporting frame is sufficient to hold the required number of staves laid edge to edge to form the body of a barrel, and for purposes of increasing or decreasing the nu mber of staves or the widths of the staves to form a barrel-body of lesser or greater diameter the stave-supporting bars carried by the stave-supporting frame are made adjustable, as will hereinafter be more particularly described. It is intended that the rails M M shall extend to the front of the main frame a sufficient distance to permit a second stavesupporting frame to be placed in position while a previously-advanced set of staves is being acted upon by the staple-drivers and to the rear of the main frame a sufficient distance to support a set of staves on their supporting-frame when the latter is pushed to the rear out of position beneath the stapledriving mechanism for the reception of a new set of staves and their support.

The stave-support is provided with several bars (in the present instance four, denoted by N N N N extending forwardly from the end l of the frame, to which they are secured. The forward ends of the bars pass through openings in the movable end Z of the frame and have a sliding engagement with said end. The bars N N are here shown as fixed permanently to the end Z of the frame, while the bars N N are fixed at one end to a slide n, fitted to the bar Z and at their opposite end to a slide n, fitted to the bar Z The slides '21. a partially embrace the bars to which they are fitted and are locked in the desired adjustment toward and away from the side Z of the frame by means of bolts 71 which pass through the bar For I and through elongated slots 17 in the slides. The bars Z Z are provided with elongated slots Z l respectively, to permit the bars N N to be moved, together with the slides n n. The adjustment of the bars N N toward the bars N N or side Z of the frame is provided to adapt the machine to larger or shorter staves, as may be desired.

To accommodate the stave supporting frame to a greater or lesser lateral spread of staves, the movable end bar Z is provided. A central stationary bar is arranged parallel with the bars N N, &c., and also passes through the movable end bar Z The bar 0 is provided with a rack 0 at its forward end, and a slide 0' is arranged to slide along the said rack portion of the bar toward and away from the end P. The slide 0 is provided on its inner wall with a springtooth 0 (see Fig. 9,) which normally engages one of the rack-teeth to hold the slide in its adjustment toward the end F. The spring-tooth 0 has a tailpiece o for lifting it out of engagement with the rack when it is desired to move the slide awayfrom the end bar Z". For the purpose of crowding the end bar I toward the end Z and thereby pressing the edges of the staves into snug contact, I provide the slide 0 with a tail-cam 0 which normally rests with its face flush with the end of the slide 0, but which may be partially rotated after the slide has been pushed into contact with the end Z to further crowd the parts together. The several bars N N, &c., carry an vils P P, &c., arranged at suitable intervals thereon to receive the points of the staples as they pass through the staves and turn them to clench the staples in position. The anvils are made adjustable on their bars by means of set-screws p, which pass through their shanks and engage the bars.

The hoops to be fastened to the staves are supposed to be of wire, either round or of any desired polygonal form in cross section. They are denoted'by Q and are strung on the stave-supporting frame across the staves in the position shown in Fig. 4. They are fastened at one end to pegs g on the top of the movable end bar Z and at their opposite ends they are caught over the short upper end q of tension-levers pivotally secured to the end bar Z as at (1 while the long arm (1 of the tension-lever projects downwardly into position to engage a vertically-movable stop-bar (1 when the frame containing the staves and the wire hoops is pushed rearwardly into position beneath the staple-drivers. The vertically-movable stop-bar g has a sliding engagement at its opposite ends with ways q q, (see Fig. 2,) which permit it to drop below the faces of the rails M M when out of use. The stop-bar q is lifted into operative position by means of cams g g on a rock-shaft g operated at pleasure by a handle Q10. The ways g g are secured to the inner faces of the uprights A A and the rock-shaft g is mounted in suitable hearings in said uprights.

The lower ends of the plunger-guides G are in a plane a short distance above the level of the staves when held by their supportingframe on the rails M M in order to permit the frame, with the staves and hoops in position, to be freely inserted from the front into position to have thestaples driven and then after the staples are driven be freely pushed to the rear out of the way to permit another frame to be placed in position.

In order to bring the hoops and staves into proper relation to the lower ends of the guides to insure the driving of the staples, I provide means for temporarily lifting the frame and staves thereon into close proximity to the lower ends of the said guides C during the driving operation. The mechanism which I employ to accomplish this consists of cams or eccentrics, in the present instance two series, the one series (denoted by rm, &c.) fixed on a rotary shaft R, mounted in suitable bearings at the lower portion of the main frame, and the other series (denoted by s s, &c.) mounted on a shaft S. The said shafts R and S are simultaneously rotated to operate the cams and eccentrics and lift the stavecarrying frames by means of gears t t on a shaft T, which gears t t engage corresponding gears on the shafts R and S. The shaft T is provided with a drive-gear t which intermeshes with a mutilated gear i on the lower end of an upright shaft t provided at its upper end with a gear which intermeshes with a gear 25 on the end of the main drive-shaft G. The gear-wheel t is somewhat larger than the gear-wheel t on the shaft T and is provided with a blank portion The relation between the two wheels 25 and t is such that the number of teeth on the wheel i corresponds to the number on the wheel i so that it will cause the latter to complete a revolution alternately with the delay which takes place while the blank portion of the wheel i is opposite the teeth on the wheel 15 This delay takes place while the staple is being driven and clenched.

In operation, assuming the driving-plungers to be at the limit of their upward movement and the lifting-eccentrics r s to be swung at the limit of their downward movement, a stave-supporting frame, with the wire hoops thereon, may be slid on the rails M M into position beneath the driving-plungers, the stop-bar g having been previously lifted into position to engage the ends g of the tensionlevers. The engagement of the tension-levers with the stop-bar will have a tendency to straighten the wire hoops, and this straightening will be still further effected by the lifting of the stave-supporting frame, which will at the same time slide the end g of the tension-levers along the side of the stop-bar q.

When the staves and their hoops are in po sition, the machine may be started by the operator. The plunger will be gradually lowered and the stave-supporting frame will be lifted toward the lower ends of the plungerguides, and while it rests in position the staple will be advanced by the driving-plunger aslride the wire hoop through the stave and its point turned to clench it. The further action of the machine will be to withdraw the plungers and lower the stave-supporting table, and this having been done the action of the machine will be temporarily arrested by the operator, the stop-bar g lowered, and the set of staves, with the hoops fastened thereon, slid, together with its supporting-frame, to the rear out of position ready for receiving another set to have the hoops fastened.

While the staves may ordinarily rest flatly in their positions, I find it desirable as a matter of precaution to provide means for holding them flatly down on their support while the hoops are being fastened. Afeasible and convenient device for this purpose is a slat U of spring material (see Fig. 8) having its ends depressed and caught in notches u u in the upper edges of the end bars Z 1 of the stavesupporting frame. This admits of the ready insertion and removal of the stave-holding slat and serves the purpose of keeping the staves flatly down in position against any tendency to buckle when crowded together edge to edge by the movable end bar F.

It is obvious that changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the structure herein set forth; but I What I claim is 1. A barrel-making machine comprising a gang of driving-plungers, means for adjusting the plungers both laterally and longitudinally of the machine, means for automatically feeding staples beneath the ends of the driving-plungers and means for holding the staves and hoops in a plane beneath the plungers, substantially as set forth.

2. A barrel-making machine comprising a gang of driving-plungers, means for simultaneously operating the plungers, means for adjusting the plungers and their operating mechanisms both laterally and longitudinally of the machine, means for automatically feeding staples beneath the plungers and means for holding the staves and hoops in a plane 'beneath the plungers, substantially as set forth.

3. A barrel-making machine comprising a gang of staple-driving plungers, means for automatically sliding the staples in position to be driven, means for crowding the staves together in a plane, means for holding the hoops in the proper positions over the staves and means for moving the assembled staves into proximity to the driving-plungers, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with driving-plungers and means for placing staples in position to be driven, of a stave-supporting frame, means for adjusting the stave-supporting frame to suit different widths and lengths of staves and a traveling support for advancing the stave-supporting frame into proximity to the plungers, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with a gang of drivingplungers and means for operating them, of a track passing beneath the plunger-s, a support arranged to travel on the track, a stave-supporting frame adjustable on the traveling support and means for holding the staves and their hoops assembled on said stave-supporting frame in position to be operated upon by the plungers and staples, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with staple driving mechanism, of a stave-supporting frame, means forguiding the stave-supporting frame into position for the staves to be operated upon by the staple-driving mechanism and devices for increasing the tension upon the hoops as the stave-supporting frame reaches its position relative to the staple-driving mechanism, substantially as set forth.

7. In combination, staple-driving mechanism, a track, a support arranged to slide on the track, hoop-supports on the sliding support, a vertically-movable stop-bar arranged to act upon the hoop-supports as the sliding support is slid into position and means for operatin g the stop-bar,substan Jially as set forth.

8. In combination, staple-driving mechanism, a track, a traveling support adapted to rest on the track below the staple-driving mechanism and mechanism coacting with the staple-drivin g mechanism for temporarily lifting the traveling support toward the stapledriving mechanism, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of two Witnesses, this 24th day of May, 1900.

ANSON MALTBY.

Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, GEORGE BARRY, Jr. 

